More headlines: Al Gore on Drugs

Smoked pot recreationally, but kept it separate from work

Gore insisted as a presidential candidate in 1987 that his dope smoking was “infrequent and rare.” He said he smoked marijuana occasionally at Harvard, “once or twice in the army,” and “once or twice as a graduate student” before quitting altogether
in 1972. But Gore’s friends say that he remained an enthusiastic recreational user through the 1970s, during his newspaper career and up until his first congressional campaign in 1976. They remember him smoking dope as often as three or four times a week

Al Gore stoned was a mix of expansiveness and paranoia, friends recall. He could be ironically humorous and self-aware about his lot as heir apparent in a political family. But he was also worried about his bright future literally going up in smoke.

For the most part, Gore kept his off-duty explorations and newspaper work tidily partitioned. Most newsroom colleagues heard little about his religious studies and saw no evidence of his drug use.

Source: Inventing Al Gore, p.101
Mar 3, 2000

Pot use in 60s was like moonshine in 20s

Vice President Al Gore said he used marijuana as a young adult. Gore said, “it was looked at similar to the way moonshine was looked at during Prohibition.”

Source: New York Times, p. A19
Oct 13, 1999

Drug war is winnable by universal participation & commitment

We do have the power to fight drugs. We can win this struggle. It was won once before, and then we let down our guard. We can win it again, if each of us is willing to take action. If we take action at every level of government, in every community, in
every house of faith, in every family and every home; if we reach out to our young people, as parents, mentors and peers, before drug dealers reach them; if we join forces, united and relentless in our determination to win this war, we can [win].

Source: White House Briefing, Washington, DC
Feb 8, 1999

Good economy means redoubling our efforts against drugs

With our economy the strongest in a generation and our national self-confidence rising, we have a rare opportunity and an obligation to redouble our efforts in the war against drugs. We must start by recognizing that our nation’s drug problem was not
born in isolation and does not exist in a vacuum. It is an interconnected problem, and so our solutions must also be interconnected. We must mount an all- out effort to banish crime, drugs, disorder and hopelessness from our streets once and for all.